1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring heart rate, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus that can calculate calorie usage using the heart rate measured at discrete times.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, there are two basic techniques for measuring calorie usage. The first method is a direct method in which the heat given off by the body is directly measured. The second method is an indirect method in which the heart rate is used to estimate the calorie usage as discussed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 02-080029. However, when measuring calorie consumption using the indirect method, there generally is a need for separate machinery and/or apparatus, which makes the measurement impractical when the calorie consumption is being measured by a portable device or a general device not dedicated to measuring calorie consumption. In addition, the indirect method discussed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 02-080029 generally requires continuous measurement of the heart rate during exercise, which is often not practical or desirable for general or portable devices having more limited memory.